Son devastated over Gomes injury, says Tottenham boss Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino and Dele Alli said Son Heung-min was distraught after hurting Andre Gomes with a tackle on Sunday.

Published : Nov 04, 2019 09:03 IST

Tottenham's Son was visibly devastated after Gomes underwent a major injury.
Tottenham's Son was visibly devastated after Gomes underwent a major injury.
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Tottenham's Son was visibly devastated after Gomes underwent a major injury.

Son Heung-min is "devastated" after hurting Everton midfielder Andre Gomes with a tackle in Sunday's 1-1 draw, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says.

Gomes was taken off on a stretcher with a serious-looking injury to his right leg after Son's challenge tripped him and led to the Portuguese colliding with Serge Aurier in the second half at Goodison Park.

Spurs forward Son, who was sent off by referee Martin Atkinson, was visibly distraught before being led down the tunnel, while players from both teams were clearly distressed by the incident.

Gomes' treatment, along with lengthy pauses for VAR checks of possible penalties, led to 12 minutes of additional time at the end of the second half, with Cenk Tosun scoring in the 97th minute to cancel out Dele Alli's opener.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Pochettino said: "We feel very sorry. It was a very bad situation, very bad luck how he landed. We can send our best wishes and of course I am very devastated for the situation.

 

"It's not important, football; it's important for him. We can talk about football but always feeling bad, feeling sorry for the action. It was so, so difficult.

"The feeling changed in this moment. We were playing well, it was more close to the second goal for us. It's difficult to assess the last 10, 12 minutes, but talking only about football, I am happy with the performance, the way we competed.

"Sonny was devastated. During the situation, he was very confused, it was difficult to keep calm. After you watch the action on TV, [you can see] it was never his intention [to hurt Gomes].

"It was very, very bad luck for Andre, for the family and for Everton. We finish with a red card for Sonny and, of course, the condition of the game changed. In this situation, we defend well but then we concede. I'm disappointed for the result."

Alli, who appeared shaken by Gomes' injury, insisted Son would never attempt to injure a player deliberately.

"I didn't want to look too much at what happened. All I can do is send him my best wishes and wish him a quick recovery," he said to Sky Sports.

 

"Son is devastated, he's in tears but it’s not his fault. He's one of the nicest people you would want to meet and he's not like that. He can't even lift his head up he's crying that much in the dressing room."

Everton boss Marco Silva praised his players for battling back to draw the game, as it now waits for updates on Gomes, who was taken to hospital.

"He went to the hospital. Now, our medical staff is taking control of everything. They will give more information about the situation. We need to wait a little bit more to be more clear," he said.

"It's a bad moment for us as a group, as a team. We give all our support to Andre and his family as well. As a group, we have to keep the togetherness and the spirit we showed after that moment.

"I didn't see the moment yet. I saw it live, I didn't see anything more. I can't talk to you about the tackle, the things that happened after the tackle."

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